This is a pretty old discussion, but I didn’t want to start a new one.

I have two more puppy kindergarten classes with Motley, who turned five months yesterday! The trainer said they usually recommend that folks take off a few months before starting the basic obedience class to give the puppies time to mature, but that I could start the next level right away if I wanted. What would you all recommend I do?

For some background, I’m definitely a novice and I use positive markers and sometimes a clicker. So far I’ve managed to teach sit, down (Motley usually performs like she’s annoyed though lol), stay, leave it (inside only), wait and look at me until I say okay, shake, high five, drop it (only for things that aren’t delicious), and to come when called (inside only). At home she’s a star, but I’m still working to develop her focus and tame her adhd around outside distractions.

Should I keep at it solo for awhile or start another round of classes? All suggestions (and encouragement) are welcome!

This is a pretty old discussion, but I didn’t want to start a new one.

I have two more puppy kindergarten classes with Motley, who turned five months yesterday! The trainer said they usually recommend that folks take off a few months before starting the basic obedience class to give the puppies time to mature, but that I could start the next level right away if I wanted. What would you all recommend I do?

For some background, I’m definitely a novice and I use positive markers and sometimes a clicker. So far I’ve managed to teach sit, down (Motley usually performs like she’s annoyed though lol), stay, leave it (inside only), wait and look at me until I say okay, shake, high five, drop it (only for things that aren’t delicious), and to come when called (inside only). At home she’s a star, but I’m still working to develop her focus and tame her adhd around outside distractions.

Should I keep at it solo for awhile or start another round of classes? All suggestions (and encouragement) are welcome!

Keeping it solo may be a good idea for a bit - it really depends on how you're feeling. I'd say work on just nailing down those commands with lots of distractions around (outside, it sounds like for you). I've got a couple of friends that did their puppy classes with their Shibas and were saying that the people at the events were very "prejudiced" against Shibas because of their "nature to not want to listen". Their dogs were fantastic around the house, but then when it came to being at the classes their dogs got a little distracted and the teachers accused them of not practicing with their puppies. If you can nail down those commands to perfection, you'll feel a lot more proud when it comes to the puppy classes. You want to make sure Motley will succeed - both as a proud parent, and as the one who has to foot the bill if the instructor tells you to repeat the obedience class.

We did both a Puppy 1 and Puppy 2 class. We waited about 3ish weeks in between them and it was honestly just nice to have a little bit of a break after going every week for 6 weeks. We reinforced the Puppy 1 stuff at home in the meantime, and he was ready to go by the time we started Puppy 2. He graduated both with flying colors, but what was great was that our trainer understood Shiba struggles. He would get SO distracted and wound up during class, so it was hard to prove he was actually improving. We were able to do everything required of us, but having a trainer that knew Shibas tend to do better at home was super helpful.